A new report, “The State of Washington’s Children 2013: Good Data for a Strong Future,” has just been released by KIDS COUNT in Washington, a partnership between Children’s Alliance and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center.
The report describes how Washington’s children fare in education, health care and basic needs. It also shares the perspectives of leaders in communities of color to help us understand what this data means for families all across the state.
Far too often, the data points to an alarming truth: Washington isn’t a place where every child has an equal chance to thrive.
Poor health, inadequate education, poverty and other factors present Washington’s children with an opportunity gap obstructing their progress toward a secure and healthy future. Children of color, who are more likely to face that opportunity gap, are becoming the majority of our child population. Yet current data sources do not provide sufficient information about the assets they bring, or the particular barriers to opportunity they face.
That’s why leaders in Washington’s diverse communities were asked to describe what the data about our state’s children means to them. The voices of those leaders are featured in the report.
“By pairing data with what communities of color know about their kids, we are starting a conversation: one that will continue until all children in Washington have what they need to learn, grow and thrive,” says Paola Maranan, executive director of the Children’s Alliance.
Click here to download a copy of “The State of Washington’s Children 2013: Good Data for a Strong Future.”
KIDS COUNT in Washington is a partnership between Children’s Alliance and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center to help improve young lives. Together, the two organizations gather and analyze the best emerging data on how kids are doing in our state, and then turn that information into action on issues like poverty, hunger, health care and education.
Hundreds of data indicators about the well-being of children are available through the KIDS COUNT in Washington web site: www.kidscountwa.org.
